이종문화에 걸치는 다리: 캐서린 패터슨의 『테라비시아의 다리』

Abstract

Katherine Paterson (1932-) is an American writer known for childrenʼs novels. She won two National Book Awards and Hans Christian Andersen Award, and two Newbery Medals. She often writes about lonely children who are not understood by those around them, and they seem to reflect the authorʼs childhood experiences. Paterson was born in China on her fatherʼs missionary duties, and she could speak both Chinese and English as native tongues. Bridge to Terabithia is the story of an unlikely friendship between a city girl, Leslie Burke, and a country boy, Jesse Aarons. Leslie is a new girl in the fifth grade class. Including Leslie, Jesse empathizes the three women who cannot adapt themselves to the surroundings at Lark Creek Elementary School—Miss. Edmunds, Janice Avery, and Leslie. They are uncomfortable with the mainstream culture in the rural area, and they cannot manage things as they wish. Nobody takes notice of their opinions, and they spend their days in isolation: they are treated as Others. In her acknowledgments of the novel, however, Paterson uses the Japanese word, banzai! for the people there. It means, in spite of Leslieʼs death, this story is not about a tragedy but about finding delight moments in our mortal lives. By writing this novel, Paterson, as well as Jesse, becomes the bridge to interact with Others.